How can I understand the globe and its people?

Why Take This Course?

Studying civilizations and geography helps us understand our world today.

This Social Studies course will give you the tools, skills, and knowledge you need to understand our world’s geography and people. It will help you recognize the conflict lines that divide us, and embrace the humanity that can bring us together. We have our own unique approach for this course: First we help you develop “info-constructs” to organize the information you study. Then, we move through the Eastern and Western world’s civilizations, demographics and economies, using info-constructs as we go to capture what we learn. As a course capstone, we step back and look at global trends, conflict lines and diasporas, and we ponder Milton Friedman’s statement that the world has become flat. As we emerge from this course, we will at least know how to ask some of the right questions about our lives and our future.

Specifically, we study the following civilizations:

Eastern: Sinic, Japanese, Buddhist, Hindu, Islamist, Orthodox

Western: African, Latin American, and Occidental (usually referred to as western civilization but not to be confused with “the Western World”).

Course Framework

Unit 1

Unit 2

Unit 3

How can I understand the world in spatial, physical, and human terms?

What are the demographics, types of governments, cultural characteristics, and economic makeup of the civilizations of the world?

What are the major problems the world is facing today and how can I impact them?

How are people, places and environments organized in spatial terms?

What are the demographics of each civilization of the world?

What is Grand Strategy and what should be the Grand Strategy of the United States?

How do geological and environmental processes shape the earth's surface?

What are the types of government of each civilization of the world?

What are the current lines of conflict seen throughout the world?

How are people, places and regions organized in demographic and economic terms?

What are the cultural characteristics of each civilization of the world?

How is the environment changing and what effects does that have on our world?

What is the driving force behind geopolitics today?

What is the economic makeup of each civilization of the world?

How has the family unit evolved through the ages of history and how is it adapting to our current age?

What are the major world religions and how is religion adapting to our current world?

What are the current trends in global economics?

How has the political state evolved and what do experts predict it may become in the future?

Texts and Materials Students Must Purchase

Students do not need to purchase any books for this course, but will be required to purchase subscriptions to a couple of journals. The total cost will be around $20. Specific information will be provided to students at the beginning of the semester.